MrOtocinclus

I'm very annoyed at this moment. My wife had a flat tire so I called AAA to have them tow the Accord home. When I approached the car the smell of the burning brakes was nauseating. Then, I saw the driver peek into the car, open the door, and sneakily release the parking brake. WTF? When I confronted him, he said he had released it before they got going, and that it somehow engaged itself. My wife later told me that she never saw him get in the car in the beginning.

When I parked the car, the brake pedal sank all the way down, and I'm guessing that's from the hot brake fluid. I also believe that in my wife's Accord, the e-brake is the same as the regular brake on the rear, which is a drum system. So, looks like I'll be getting new brakes for the rears?

You expect more from professionals, and if they mess up, at least they could take responsibility. Blah. Thanks for listening.

/rant

csmeance

call up AAA or the towing company they used and their insurance should cover it. That's just stupidity and negligence on the drivers part. What year is your accord? As far as I know, all of the 2003+ ones use calipers for the main brakes but small drum ones in the rear that should have no effect on the brake fluid.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Let us know how it goes. Also, make sure you have the driver's name, the time you called, the date, and where you where when the driver picked you up available. They will want to know who was responsible.

nj2pa2nc

sorry to hear that-Just wondering why you had the car towed to your house and not just have them replace the flat tire with the spare. (hope you have one).

mrstak

iTrader: (1)

You should've totally called him out on it. If he fucked up your brakes like that, you shouldn't let him off the hook. Definitely get his name, company and report to AAA and have someone (hopefully his company) pay for your new brakes. Ridiculous!

MrOtocinclus

Thanks everyone for the replies. It's amazing how a few hours of sleep can clear the head. I was not in a good mood last night. Mods, would it be possible to change the "dumb f*ck" in the title to "AAA contractor"? My apologies...

It's a 2005 Accord DX Value Package (i.e. the cheaper one), so I believe the rear service and parking brakes share the same drum. My understanding is that when the brake fluid gets hot the pedal will go all the way to the floor due to the loss of pressure from the fluid turning from liquid to gas. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

I was asking myself the same thing last night. The Accord has not really been taken care of. I had actually warned my wife against driving 50+ miles on a cheap used tire (the one that went flat) that my b-i-l had put on for her. With that in mind, the temporary spare "donut" is over 6 years old and I was not comfortable with her driving on it. Plus, I recently upgraded to the AAA that includes 100 miles of towing, so I wanted to take advantage of it.

Thanks, I'm definitely going to do this.

Yeah, I think he knew he messed up, and was just making stuff up as he talked to me. He did give me the name of his supervisor, so I'll be giving him a call today.

Thanks again, everyone. I have to remind myself that it's just a tire (or just a braking system?!) and not the end of the world. I'll update the thread if/when there's new information. Have a great day!

csmeance

No problem, title changed!

Once the fluid heats up enough it'll boil and turn into gas that won't allow the brakes to engage. As well, if the pads are worn down enough the pedal will go down and you won't have much braking either!

I suggest that you get on doing some maintenance on the car like the brakes, fluid changes, and get a new tire on the spare! Just give them a call and they'll take care of it!

nspec_ya4

iTrader: (38)

sucks. i know the feeling of others fucking your car up and not manning up to it.

nspec_ya4

iTrader: (38)

and why would it affect your fluid?

Mr Marco

^heat transfer. Needs a new brake line also.

Legend2TL

On other thing to check beside the rear drum and shoes is the wheel bearings in the rear. A friend's girlfriend did the same thing to his Prelude and the heat buildup in the rear brakes caused the rear sealed bearings to go bad after a couple thousand miles after that happened. So also check the rear wheel bearings, they're sealed and may be toast.

dallison

any update?

VIP typ-S

You'll want to replace everything on the rear brakes. Calipers, rotors, rubber brake lines, e-brake pads and disc. brake pads. It's ALL been super heated. I'm sure your going to fine the calipers and rotors blue from the heat. When you boil brake fluid it's NEVER the same afterwards.

oonowindoo

always, always always flatbed.... I believe AAA should and will reimburse you if you file the report with AAA while you were there. However, if you waited for days then call AAA, then it would be his words vs your words.

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

I always ask for a flatebed even if its going to take a little bit extra..

but what a dumbass...

nj2pa2nc

i hope everything works out for you-Please get new tires, including a new spare. Be thankful the tire was not a blow out that could cause a bad accident.

MrOtocinclus

Just a quick status update: I had the car towed (AAA lady asked for a flatbed for me!) to my local Acura dealership (I've received very good service there, and they have good reviews as well) and they recommended changing out the rear drums, which I OK'd. When I asked them about the brake lines and fluid, they said that they seemed fine, but I had them change the fluid anyway. The car is supposed to be ready today.

The manager of the towing company has been very professional about the whole situation. He's going to pay for everything and has already contacted my service advisor directly. Next time I'll definitely ask for a flatbed. At the time, it never occurred to me that something like this would happen.

Re: the rear bearings, I'll ask the advisor later today when he calls. I have the shop manual for this car so I may take a look myself, but obviously I'd rather not if I can avoid it.

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice. My remaining concern is whether the car is safe to drive after this debacle. As some of you mentioned, the brake fluid was super heated, and that affects the entire system. Who knows what might happen down the line? I might just drive the car for awhile before letting my wife drive it again. Or, maybe I'll just trade it in for a new car.

Thanks again!

Edit: nj2pa2nc, thanks for the reminder. I forgot to mention that yes, I'm going to get new tires for the car, and luckily there is a highly rated shop across the street from the Acura dealer.

Edit #2: Decided to just call my advisor re: wheel bearings. He says he'll make a special note to the tech... but the best part is he told me that the tech is a 25+ year experience guy, so that definitely makes me feel better.

Legend2TL

Glad to read they're taking care of you.

When my friend's G/F pulled up in his Prelude (2G) at night the rear rotors were glowing red. She drove it ~30 miles to his house (she borrowed it) on the highway with the parking brake on. My friend was still amazing she didn't notice the red brake light on the dash or the smell of burning brakes. He shrugged it off and replaced the pads, fluid and eventually the bearings, the things we do for love

ANC297

iTrader: (2)

The brake fluid has a certain boiling point, so in this case, the brakes far exceeded that temperature causing the fluid to boil and vaporize...When it does this, its properties are changed and the fluid must be changed...When it boils, air pockets can form in the system as well..

I would love to see the glazing on those parking brake shoes and drum.

Professor

Don't worry about the brakes...just install a louder horn.

ANC297

iTrader: (2)

True...OP, even if your base brakes fail, I'm sure the tree brakes, building brakes, and the other vehicle brakes will still bring you to a stop.